Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Brian's Thursday Update

It looks like we are back in business. The snow has been falling off and on since Monday night. Just the little flakes that add up without noticing that it is snowing much. The trails are well covered but the road crossings are still messy because the highways are so clear. The side roads are okay to run if you have to travel on a cottage road to get to the trail.

Both groomers headed out today for parts unknown. The OPP were back in the neighbourhood again. Maybe they will be finished here by the weekend!!!

Riders in today (all 8 of them) said that the trails were good. Two guys had trailered to Apsley and ridden from there. They said that it was good all the way here. The lakes are starting to freeze over again but I haven't talked to anyone that has crossed one, so no info there.

Word around the coffee table is that it is to continue snowing for the next couple of days and get really cold. That should make for good riding this weekend.

It's been really quiet this week so no gossip or sad and touching stories. Not even much has broken down this week but I didn't say that out loud.

I am still keeping premium gas available for those that may be expecting to find gas at the gas station.

Well that's all the news that's fit to print today. Brian you should be proud of me I didn't let you down this week and miss the Thursday report. Man can he whine!!!

Hope to see you over the weekend
Cheers
Nancy

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Things are getting better.

What a difference 24 hours makes. It snowed a few inches overnight and it has snowed off and on all day adding a few more inches. The temperature has dropped below freezing so nothing is melting.

We had only 6 riders in today. They came from West Gilford. They said that the trails were not too bad at all and they had seen much worse. I guess the rain didn't do all that much damage after all and the new snow has improved things somewhat.

All is not lost in the sledding world after all.

I will update again tomorrow evening.

Cheers
Nancy

Monday, January 25, 2010

I'm too depressed to think of a whitty title

Well I guess there is no point in telling what a great sledding day Saturday and most of Sunday was because it all went for a crap today. It rained for about 24 hours. It stopped at about 3 pm this afternoon. The puddles are huge. The driveway is an ice rink and the trails are a mess.

A little fine snow started about 6 pm. The temperature is to drop Tuesday and Wednesday and more light snow come.

The good thing about rain on Monday is that there is always time for it to smarten up by Friday.

I'll do the snow dance and see what that brings. Maybe a broken hip if I slip on the ice. Would I get 6 weeks off with pay??? Probably not.

I'll update again on Wednesday with changes. Here's hoping for good things.

Cheers
Nancy

Friday, January 22, 2010

Sorry about being late

Sorry for not updating in Thursday but the day got away on me and I had to go out last night. It always make me feel like I let you down when I miss Thursdays.

Not any new snow to speak of this week but temperatures have been low so no melt down. The groomers have been out every day. The rail bed was perfect yesterday. The trail to High Country and Madawaska was in great shape all week.

The lakes have tightened up a bit and they are still being ridden but no stakes yet.

We had a fair amount of riders in this week that are on overnight trips. Most riders in this week said that they hadn't met any one or very few sled all day.

Jim and the guys from McKenzie Lake trailered to Apsley yesterday and rode up to the cottage from there. They said the trails were good all the way. They are heading to Pembroke today so I'll check with them tomorrow when they are back. There were not any real complaints about trail conditions this week.

We are not expecting any more snow until sometime late next week. Well you know how that goes. They can't predict the weather correctly for 24 hours so I don't know why we should pay attention to seven days in the future.

If Saturday is anything like yesterday and today (and it looks like it will) it will be a great weekend. Here's hoping.

My sad and touching story for this blog is the three guys that were in yesterday for a late lunch. I didn't ask where they had ridden from but non the less they all got a speeding ticket just outside of Lake St. Peter. $110.00 each for driving over 50 kpm. They were in pretty good spirits about the whole incident. I gave them my amortization speech. If you divide the money over each time you were going to fast on your sled it would probably work out to about $1.50 per trip. It was a great day and no one was on the trails (except the OPP) they were on a long flat stretch it's hard to be good all the time. Better luck next time.

Well I'd better get off my duff and get busy.

Hope to see you this weekend
Cheers
Nancy

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

What a weekend!!!

What a wild weekend we just had. We were about 2 clowns short of a circus this weekend but all went well anyway. Thank you to everyone that stopped by for a meal or a coffee. We were really busy and everyone was so patient if they had to wait a bit for service. You may have noticed that your servers are getting a little long in the tooth and we don't move as fast as we used to.

I waited until today to update to see what the weather would do. That is my story and I'm sticking to it. It was mild and dreary on Monday but a little snow is falling today which is a good thing because it was getting a little sad and depressing looking out there.

The trails were groomed on Sunday and Monday. The groomer has gone by the diner a few times over the last couple of day. Mink Lake trail was done. Brushing continued on Monday.

Bill B has the stakes to mark Lake St. Peter but although folks are riding it is not quite safe to mark it yet. Two riders in on the weekend said that there were a couple of open spots by the island. So use your own judgement and leave your wallet at the diner if you are crossing it.

Here's a shout out to Harry from Port Perry. Harry was in for the first time this weekend. This must mean that the season is officially open!! We didn't see much of Harry last winter. I hear he was busy frolicking other places after his retirement. Oh to be young and frolic.

I found out last week that even a few local people follow the blog. Now neither need it for snow conditions, they can just stick their heads out the window and check, therefore it must be for the witty banter. So to Darren down the highway and the hottie from the golf course thanks a bunch.

That's it for now. Let's hope the snow keeps up. I will be back on Thursday to let you know how much fell and any other disasters that may have happened.

Cheers
Nancy

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Is it Thursday already?

Another week is almost over. Not too many around this week but everyone in said that all the trails are in great shape. The groomers have been out regularly and the old boys club that is brushing the trails have been out every other day trying to clean up.

The 177 is still impassable and will be for a long time. There are two groups working on it one from each end. They haven't met in the middle yet.

Yesterday the groomer was on it's way to Whitney when it blew a tire. They made it to Hay Lake Road where the service guy could meet them and they were able to get it fixed. But it took quite a long time. Our cook Pat and Bill stopped and helped fix it. You can imagine how much help Bill was. I'll bet he gave directions better than any one else there.

We haven't had any new snow for a few days. A smidgen of freezing rain yesterday but it is cold and damp. My sinuses are starting to act up so it is either going to snow or I have had too much white wine this week. I think it's going to snow!!!

We have gas at the gas station today after six days without. I am still keeping premium fuel on hand for emergencies.

There is a winter festival happening on the family day weekend with lots of activities all weekend in Bancroft, L 'Amable and Maynooth. As part of the festival I am organizing a Snow Shoe Baseball Tournament. If you have a group that would like to put a team in we would love it. Just call the diner at 613-338-3043 to register your team. You must supply your own snowshoes. It's a lot of fun.

The MLSS Snowskimmers Poker Run is the next weekend.

Well no disasters here this week and no touching stories, at least none that I can share so I will end so that I can go outside and do the snow dance.

See you on the weekend
Cheers
Nancy

Monday, January 11, 2010

Happy sledders abound.

It was a great weekend of sledding. The trails are in good shape. There are a few that are still not open because of low hanging branches. I keep getting mixed reports about the trails to Papineau Lake. That lake is still open so folks had to use the road to get to trails and there is one that is still blocked with branches. The guys were out again this morning working away at them.

Riders in on Sunday were quite pleased with the trails. They had all been groomed and there was not much traffic on Sunday. There were a lot from Halibution, Wilberforce, Coe Hill that had had great rides.

We felt really bad for the young guy that broke down on Saturday afternoon. His sled was brand new and the track broke. He was stuck at the diner for five hours waiting for a ride back to Gooderham. Had I known what the problem was I would have put him to work in the kitchen washing dishes to help pass the time!!! He was so patient and quiet. Bless his little heart. I would have been half tanked and madder than hell waiting around all that time. To add insult to injury his ride had only every been over here by sled and didn't know how to get here by truck. But finally he got rescued. We may never see him again. If he makes his way back I hope he reminds me that it was him.

The lakes have not been staked yet. I will check for a later post on the lake conditions. I haven't heard that they are not riding them. I know they are on Baptiste and Lake St. Peter.

So that is about it for now. Gary assures us that he will have gas for this weekend. If not I will always have some here. I was trying to get a tank of some sort so that I could have more on hand but that looks like it won't happen. I can't even get a temporary tank for the short term. That would make life too easy.

Oh well lets see what happens. I sure one of you will come up with a solution.

Have a great week.

Cheers
Nancy

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Thursday Report

Each day has been busier than the one before, which is a good thing because Monday and Tuesday I thought there was a gate up at the township border it was so quiet.

Grooming continues and so does the snow. Today is the only day that it hasn't snowed in a while. What a beautiful few day today was. Sunny and cold most days. Today was milder and lots of sledders were out. They came from all directions and everyone said that the trails were great. There are still a lot of low hanging branches but there is not much that can be done about that.

An old timer from McKenzie Lake said the only way to get the ice and snow off the trees now is for it to rain boiling water. He thinks its here til nearly spring. I nearly threw him out on his ear.

I learned something new yesterday. I learned that you don't clean off the oil tank with a shovel. You use a broom or your hand or something else that is soft. Who know that the little thingy that lets you know how much oil is left was so sensitive? It now has a cute little jam jar on top for a while. (In my books that's about 10 years.) Oh the joys of winter.

Not much else new to report. Other than myself no one has done anything noteworthy. Some one had better make a bone head play this weekend or life will be getting dull.

Hope we see you soon.
Cheers
Nancy

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

The clean up continues.

The groomers have been out daily but the trails are so full of downed trees and low hanging branches that it is a huge job. The groomer went to Whitney three times last week. Two trips took 12 hours and the other took 14 hours there was so much brush to clean up.

The group out brushing 177 this morning were out for over 4 hours and think that it will take at least three more days to complete. They were soaking wet and freezing when they came by for coffee on the way home. So if I hear any whining about how poorly we are cleaning up I'll give these guys your number. Keep in mind they are all volunteers and most are well over 60 years old. They are doing the best they can.

The snow just doesn't stop. We get a few centimeters each day which is keeping everything fresh. It is still very cold so no snow is being lost. But it is making a great base.

Now for my touching story of the week. With all the snow lately my satellite dish at the house was covered and I had no reception last night when I got home. Well no problem-I'll just put on my big girl panties, big boots, take the broom, climb the TV tower and brush that sucker off. So I tromped through the six feet of snow in my yard to the side of the house, made it safely to the TV tower looked up to find that the dish is about 500 feet up in the air (well maybe not quite). Still I really think that I can do this. So big rubber boots, kitchen broom and all I tackle the tower only to find out that these things are built so that kids and short people can't climb them. 5' 3" isn't tall enough to get past the second step. Thank goodness it was 7:30 at night and no one was watching. I'm pretty sure if I had gotten any higher I would still be there now frozen solid to the TV tower. I decided to give up at that point. Got into my car and drove to my daughters to pick up my winter coat that I had left there. The lack of a warm coat would also have been a reason I would have been frozen to the tower.

Oh well. I will get that fixed one of these days and life will be good again.

It was nice to see lots of the regular sledders back for another season, and great to see some new folks.

Once everyone has had a breather from all of the holiday activities I hope to see you all back for some great riding.

I'll be back later in the week with clean up info and trail updates.

Cheers
Nancy

Sunday, January 03, 2010

A grand start to the new year

After a very quiet New Years Eve, and I mean in my jamies by 6:30 quiet we were off to a running start on New Years Day.

The snow keeps falling and the trees are still so laden with snow and ice travel is really difficult. Crews have been out brushing and more are going out on Monday but there are so many trails it is hard to get them all. Grooming was not stellar over the weekend but the groomer was out last night and just went by heading north this morning. I am guessing that by the end of the day everything should be done.

For the second morning in a row there has been no cell service due to the weather. It usually comes on about noon. It has been blowing and snowing all night so there is quite a new accumulation. Any delays in posting is for the same reason. Some days I just don't have Internet service. Today is one of them. I will have to save this and publish when the dish clears.

The lakes are not staked yet but riders in yesterday said that they have been running Baptiste and Lake St. Peter for a few days. A few have been on Mink Lake but I don't think that it is a good idea yet.

No one was real impressed with the trail conditions on the weekend. Not for a lack of snow but for non grooming and the trees. Hopefully this will not be the case by next weekend. It has just been so frigging cold and windy that it is hard to get out and do anything (like fix my snow blower).

I am afraid for my safety if one of Lake St. Peter's residents comes in today. He used to call me the snow witch because I was always wishing for snow. Now he calls me the f@&@#*ng snow witch because it won't stop snowing. Oh well I've got broad shoulders-bring it on. Charlie Foster the older gentleman that plows about 65 driveways keeps telling me to stop doing the snow dance but I don't listen to him either.

Well that's all the new there is to report for now. I'll be back in a couple of days to bring you up to speed.

Best wishes for a Happy and Snowy 2010.

Cheers
Nancy